Railroad-switch



' 3 sums-sheet 1.

(No Model.)

A; H. EGB. RAILROAD SWITCH.

No. 357,189. Patented Feb. f8, 1887..

A.. H. EGE. RAILROAD SWITCH.

3 Sheets-'SIMMI l '.Pagtellizedl Feb. 8. 1887.

(No Model.) l 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

A. H. EGE,

RILROAD SWITCH.

Patented Peb. a, 1887.

' rEicE.

ALEXANDER H. EGE, OF MECHANICSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILROAD-SWITC H.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357,189, dated February8, 1887.

Application filed February 15, 1884. Serial No. 120,811. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, ALEXANDER H. EGE, a citizen of the United States,anda resident of Mechanicsburg, county of Cumberland, and State ofPennsylvania, have-invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailroad Switches and Frogs, of which the following is a specification.

lVIy inventionrelates to improvements in railroad switches and frogs, bywhich trains of cars in passing in either direction,'whether upon themain track or siding, will 'be prevented from derailment under any andall circumstances arising from a misplaced switch, and it has specialreference to in'lprovements in the switch patented to W. P. Dodson, June6, 1882, No. 259,001. l

yIn referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view showing the inaintrack and switch, with thelatter set to the former in full lines and tothe siding in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section in linemxof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan showing the main track and siding .with afrog to be used in connection with the depressed track. Fig. et showsalongitudinal section on line y y of Fig. 3, with the part of deepestdepression of the main track removed. Fig. 5 is a transverse section onthe line y y' of Fig. 1 t-hrough the road-bed and rails, showing'moreparticularly the arrangement of the springs controlling the pointedrail. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively plan and side views of f a sectionof the main line, and showing my peculiar formation; and Fig. 8 is aplan view of the same, showing a wing-rail in position with themain-line rail.

The main trackr is indicated by the rails A A', one of which, as A, isformed with a depressed portion, as shown in the patent referred to, B Bbeing the movable parts of the outside and inside rails, and B3 B4 thefixed parts of the same. In constructing tracks in accordance with thatpatent I found that when the tread ofthe wheels ofthe engine and carswas ofthe width now generally used-say four inches-the wheels wereliable to drop into the depression before the edge of the wheel-treadswould bear sufficiently upon the siding or wing rail. To avoid thisobjection I form the main-track rail in such a manner that the siding orwing rail may be brought so near to the main-rail surface, against whichthe Wheelilange bears just before the depression commences, that at orbefore the point where the inside edge of the rail, and to have thispoint over or in the plane of theV web of the rail it is necessary tooffset the web of the rail laterally, commencing at a point about c',Figs. 6 and 7, so as to bring the web of the rail for a short distance,at or near the point 0, practically in the plane ofthe inside edge orgageline of the main rail. The crown or head is then planed or otherwisecut away, so as to form the point, which will be directly over the weband in proper alignment with the remainder of the rail. The depressionof the rail is preferably made before the planing or` cutting away ofthe crown, and may be made either before or after the web of the railhas been offset laterally. By this construction I am enabled to bringthe siding or wing rail so near to the gage-line of the main track thatbefore the treadof the wheel passes off the main rail at the depressedportion it will bear sufficiently upon the siding or wing to be thorxoughly supported.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a stationary sidingrail, B2, like that in thepatent referred to, eX- cept by offsetting the web of the main rail andcutting it, as just described, I am enabled to bend the siding-rail B2,as shown, to bring its edge near the gage-line of the main track, sothat the wheel passing over the main track will be fully supported, andwhen the wheel passes to the siding it will also be supported, itsflange crossing the main rail at the depressed portion. It is evidentthat the same construction of the main rail, except that the rail is notshown as laterally bent, is used in the frog portion of the switch shownin Fig.3, where r is the point, and t' the depressed porf tion, of themain rail.

I have so far described my improved rail as used in connection with astationary siding or wing rail, as shown in the patent above referredto. I have made a further impr0venient in connection with the rail bymaking the siding or wing rail movable, and preferably normally held inclose lateral engagement with the main rail by spring-pressure or otherequivalent means. ln doing this I fasten one end ofthe wing or sidingrail to the main rail or sleepers and bend the rail, so that its head orcrown proj eets partially over the depressed portion ofthe main rail andto bring the edge of the siding or wing rail into contact with thetapered edge of the point of the main rail, thereby aii'ording anunbroken bearing for the tread ofthe wheels;

Instead of bending the rail vertically to form the depression, a part ofthe rail may be eut away, as shown in dotted lines at g, Fig. 2,01 therail may be depressed to some extent and the crown and part of the webcut away, as shown at q', Fig. 'l. In all these cases the main-line railis continuous in part or in whole, and the carryingsnrace ofthemain-line and siding or wing rails is always on the saine plane.

The location ol' the extremity of the switchrail B is at a short removefrom the commencement of the depression of said main rail A, as at j. Ator near the point b said switch-rail B is b eut inwardly at such a curveas will admit of its head projecting partly over the head of thedepressed part of the main rail until the point c is reached, when thecurve is made to bear outward until it is brought into continuousprolongation with the permanent portion of the siding at or near thepointfz.

Since the natural resilience of the switchrail B is an element thatshould also be taken into consideration when said rail is brought intorequisition in shunting, and is graduated by the length of the unspikedsection thereof, it is not necessary that the section d of the permanentsiding-rail B5 should be unduly prolonged toward the point c, but onlyeX- tended so farthat when in co-operation of said resilience it willafford an interval between its extremity s and the contiguous main railsufficient to admit of the intermediate passage of the wheel-langes of ashunted train.

Vith regard to the construction of the Aswitch-rail B, I make the samepointed at its free end at an angle more or less acute, and pivoted atthe opposite end as securely as necessary. lVhen said switch-rail B isset for the main line by means of the switch-rod and lever, as in thecase ol' a train passing up the main line, s aid switch-rail B isrequired to perform the function oi' a guard-rail. As a re-enlorcementin this relation I use one or more guides or tongues, U fu, to limittheinner range of said pointed rail B', said guides being made to passsnugly under holders on, m or equivalent devices at their free ends,said holders operating both as stops and as means to prevent the tiltingor twisting of the pointrail B when subjected to the lateral pressure ofthe engaging wheel-flanges. rlhe transverse ends of the guides n n areriveted or otherwise rigidly fastened to the web of the said point-rail.

In referring to the depression of the maintrack rail A, it will beperceived that I limit its use to the oblique passage thereover of thewheel-iianges when sh unting. and therefore the treads are made to rollupon the upper surface of the switch-rail B under all circumstances, andnot upon the concave surface of the maintrack rail A. The curvedswitchrail B in this connection having a lateral movement independent ofthe opposite switchrail, B', is not connected therewith by means ofcommon` actuating tiebars, as is the case when both switclrrails arerequired to move in the same direction at the same time in opening andclosing the switch. The switchrailB may therefore be swiveled or rigidlyfastened at the one cxtreniity,f, to the main rail A, or at the otherextrernity,f,in continnous prolongation of the permanent section d ofthe siding, without any reference to the point-switch B; hence the barsFi and K, carrying the springs G and H,respeetively, of the switch-railsB and B, are swveled or fastcned at but one end to said switclrrails atthe points 7L and It?.

The spring H in Fig. l, having a thrust in but one direction,requiressimply a single ter minal nut, k, and a stop, k, to control the pressureof the same upon the opening and closing of the switch.

lf by frequent use it be found that the switch-rail B has lost a portionof iis natural resilience, a double-crank shaft and connectingswitch-rods may be used, as shown in Fig. l in dotted lines, one ofwhich rodsis fastened to the switch-rail B and the other to the rail B,and by these means the switch is operated as may be desired; but in thiscase, to make the switch automatic, springs must be used in connectionwith each rod.

The operation of the spring II or its cquiva- IIO lent is conlined tothe function of yielding to the lateral pressure of the wheel-ilanges ofa train during its passage from or onto the siding, and also, after saidpassage, of forcing the switc11-rail B into lateral contact with themain rail A, in order to supply the desired bearing for the wheel-treadswhen moving over the main line, and at the same time to restore, as muchas possible, the continuity of said main rail, otherwise somewhatinterrupted by the contiguous depression of the same.

In directing the attention further to the action of the wheel-flanges onthe right upon their arrival at the intersection of the switchrail Bwith theprolongation of the main-track rail A at the point of greatestdepression, fi, we perceive the same easy and uninterrupted passage ofthe wheel-flanges of the in or out going train over the main rail A,attended by a similar lateral pressure of the same against the head ofthe laterally-moving wing-rail BZ,

as obtains in the analogous case of the switch. The wing-rail B2 beingpivoted, swiveled, or otherwise fastened at its extremity d, (a bolt, M,having a double spring bearing being shown,) eo-operates with theyielding spring G', and thereby admits of the uninterrupted transit ofthe wheel-flanges between said wingrail and the pointed head of the mainrail or tongue of the frog and the top of the incline r. The throat ofsaid frog is thus seen to be the Vplace of greatest depression, t', thetongue said point r, and the Wing-rail the spring-actuated rail B2,which, in connection with the lateral supporting continuous maiirtrackrail A, afford the necessary bearings of both the main line and sidingto secure the desired safe passage of a train thereover in any desireddirection.

The advantage gained by and the necessity for the pointing ofthe head ofthe main-track rail A at the beginning of the depression,at one endthereof at least, is shown by observing the engagement of thewheel-treads in their passage over the main line within the limits bothof the switch and frog. In consequence of offsetting the web ot' therail laterally, and then planing away the lateral edges of the head ofthe maintrack rail in vertical planes' converging to the web at thepoint of flexure, I

. am able to bring the inner or gage line of the said mairrtrack railinto such close lateral proximity to its contiguous siding or wing railthat the wheel-treads extend'so far beyond the outer lateral limits ofthe pointed head of the main-track rail that they roll with a safebearing upon the horizontal upper surface of both of said rails beforepassing within the longitud-inallimits of the depression. The

treads of car-wheels being of a limited breadth,

said pointing of the head of the main-track rail affords safe means oftransit to trains over the main line, or from the same to the siding,and vice versa.

The automatic action of the spring'factuated rails of` the switch andfrog when the switch is set wrong to a train engaging therewith is soobvious as to require no description, and hence need not be referred 4toin detail.

YVhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- A 1.The laterallybent crown pointed depressei rail A of the main track, andthe rail .A of the same, in combination with the movable switch-rail B,and the pointed and mova-v able switch-rail B of the siding, as and forthe purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the main-track rails A andA, the formercrown-pointed and depressed, the movable switeh-rail B, andthe pointedand movable switch-rail B ofthe siding, Pof suitable springs foractuating the switchrails B and B laterally, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the 1naintrack rail A, having two crown-pointedand depressed portions, of the spring-actuated siding and wing rails,vsubstantially as described.

4:. The combinatiomwith a continuo us main line rail, of aspring-actuated outside and independently-moving siding-rail,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereofI affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER H.' EGE.

Vitnesses:

CHAs. T. SoHIvELY, W. W. DOUGHERTY.

